From
an early focus on rallying and hill climbs, to a long and successful
career in saloon car racing, predominantly with Vauxhall in the British
Touring Car Championship, John Cleland has an interesting story to tell.

Two Thundersaloon
championships in 1986 & 1988, two British Touring Car Championship
titles in 1989 & 1995, and some close run, down to the wire near misses
made John Cleland a household name in motorsport circles. Johnís
reluctance to keep his thoughts to himself in the heat of the moment, a
handful of infamous incidents and a pinch of controversy helped make the
90ís BTCC Super Touring era a spectacle to be relished.

On September 19th 1999, after 10 years
of service, John retired from the British Touring Car Championship in
spectacular style, only to promise to return to motorsport in the not
too distant future.

The year 2000 saw John appear in a
Chrysler Viper and a GT Porsche on a few occasions and in 2001, a brief
dip into the then new to the U.K, American

style, ASCAR stock car racing.

John
has been a regular visitor to the 1000Km Touring Car "Great Race" at
Bathurst's spectacular Mount Panorama circuit in Australia, with a best
finish of second place with Brad Jones in 2001.

2004's visit to the mountain saw John
rolled onto his roof after a tangle with the Brock/Plato Commodore after
just 30 laps. Take a look at the news pages to

see how John and the Brad Jones Racing
Team BOC Ford Falcons fared in 2005.

Commuting to and from Australia
between the Sandown & Bathurst enduro events, JC was also prominent in
the BTCC Masters event at Donington in
September 2004 and in the guest Porsche Carrera Cup car at his home
circuit of Knockhill earlier in 2004.

In 2008, John was briefly reunited
with a 1995 BTCC Cavalier at the Goodwood
Festival of Speed.

Since
2013, John has been competing in the HSCC Super Touring Car Trophy in
the same 1997 Vauxhall Vectra he originally drove in the BTCC.